The Last Defender
by OceanMist9
Summary: Alia Selwyn was the one mistake the Sorting Hat ever made. Placed in Slytherin with the heart of a Gryffindor, she has a terrible decision to make on the eve of the Battle for Hogwarts. Everything will change as she struggles to find the right path...
1. Chapter 1

For Ophelia Skinner. I owe you one, because this idea was born of the review that you left me. Thanks for the support, and this is the Harry Potter story that has been singing at the tops of its lungs at me to write.

This takes place on the eve of the Battle for Hogwarts.

Disclaimer: No. Alia, yes. I love her to death.

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**(the beast yearns)**

The wait was the hardest thing she'd ever done. Sitting there, at the smooth, wooden table that was so sorrowfully empty of any soul but hers, her heart felt like a void had opened up, ripping a tear between the reality and what was inside. She was the only one who had stayed loyal, the only child of a Death Eater remaining at the Slytherin table with her wand gripped in one trembling hand, her small vial of Felix Felicis in the other. The stares she drew, the looks that were darted in her direction sneakily, as if in the hopes that they hadn't been seen; that she could deal with. What she couldn't deal with was the fact that when their loyalty had been challenged, the whole of Slytherin had strode from the hall, their noses upturned at even the slightest thought that they would join the ranks of Hogwarts and prove themselves. They had done exactly as the rest of the school had known; dashed straight to Voldemort with the swiftness of an arrow. Except her.

The voices of the other houses rose and fell around her, but their voices were nothing but echoes of a memory, of a feast before the terror, before the evil. The undisturbed pool that had existed long before the madness had since been rippling with the remnant of Lord Voldemort's power, of his hatred. Tonight was the last night. They had until midnight to bring him Harry Potter, and if they did not do as he requested, the battle would begin. People would be destroyed, families torn to shreds because of the selfish desires he kept locked tight in his heart, some of which were only just coming to light.

The hatred beat inside of her with a dull ache, drawing all her attention. It sucked in one breath after another, rearing its ugly head to sniff at the air with what could only be called hope. _Soon, soon, it would have its fill._

She did not want to feed the beast.

The creature would only grow hungrier with every waking moment, each moment that she fended it off its power over her would grow, gnawing at the beams that held up her sanity. It would expand out from the center, filling every single crack of Alia Selwyn, until every single shard of her soul had been swallowed into its maw, right down to the filthy beast's endlessly hungry stomach. Not a pleasant thought.

Kingsley Shacklebolt was the only one whose voice broke into her thoughts, being calm and collected despite the situation. "All right, leaders up here and we'll divide up the troops!" Alia stood up; glancing down the empty rows of what had once been the most proud of houses, the most pure of them all.

_Purity has nothing to do with it,_ Alia thought, much disgusted at the notion that one person could have purer blood than another. It was all _red_, for God's sake!

She walked silently down the aisle. The Great Hall fell silent as their gazes turned on her, some curious, some so angry that they stabbed deep into her back. In the marble floor she could see her reflection gazing fluidly back at her, the very model of confidence and courage. _I am here to protect that which I love, just as much as any of them. _She could do this. _I belong too._

The aisle ended. She would have to pass in front of all the other houses to step up on the dais, to get to where Professor McGonagall was waving her wand around, the defensive spells issuing from the tip. A deep, steady breath found its way into her lungs, and she was off, her sneakers practically soundless against the marble. But every head turned, a thousand pairs of eyes on her. The whispers erupted as Alia raised her head high. The Felix warmed in her hand, strength surging down from the lucky potion in the vial as though it were a living thing. As she knew it was.

Alia Selewyn was the last defender. The last Slytherin.

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Please R&R.


	2. Chapter 2

Here goes. I can only apologize for how long it took me to type this up, and hope desperately that you'll forgive me. Can you?

Dedication: Ancolie. You are amazing. Also, Bittersweetsummer, for her encouragement. Lastly, Ravenn28. Thanks for the kudos :D

Disclaimer: I own Alia.

Enjoy (and review, of course!).

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**(to fall)**

The silence stretched on. Alia felt as if she was standing on a hill, with beautiful gently rolling hills in every direction, as far as the eye could see. The quietness was like that; it continued on far beyond what she had thought it would. It draped around her like a cloak; every sound muffled like she was separated from the rest of the Great Hall by a pane of glass. Like she was a specimen to be examined.

The beast in her chest lowered its head, falling into a restless slumber as it awaited its reward. It had waited for years; it could wait a couple hours more. Its time would come.

Alia raised her head to meet the questioning stares, keeping her gaze completely neutral, her hand curled tightly around her phoenix feather wand. The smooth wood felt glassy to her touch, slippery with what she soon realized was sweat. The intense stares were making her stomach flip over on itself, and her breath seemed to catch in her throat.

She turned back to the dais, where McGonagall's wand had ceased erupting spells and was instead almost unconsciously aimed at her. The Professor's hand was trembling slightly.

"I believe I asked you to leave with your peers, Ms. Selwyn," McGonagall said, her voice cold. "Now is not the time for those with loyalty to the Dark Lord." Kingsley shifted next to her, and Alia could almost see the wand he was hiding under his cloak.

"I want to fight."

The words flew almost silently from her mouth. She raised her voice; it was shivering slightly, but she managed to keep it smoothed over. The beast awoke in her, fury coursing through its lithe muscles and flashing in its narrowed eyes. How dare they challenge her loyalty!

Her voice strengthened. "I want to fight! I care about this school as much as any of you, as much as I would have had I been in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, or Ravenclaw!" Her voice faltered a little bit. She whirled on the rest of the school, finally laying eyes on the ones who prosecuted her, the cold jury who had made their decision long before the defense had even said their piece.

"If any of you have ever seen me standing up for Slytherins, for what they believe, speak up now! You may question my loyalty, but I stayed, didn't I?" She turned back to McGonagall, whose face had turned pale. "If you don't believe me, send me after them. Send me back to the Dark Lord who my family serves, so he can kill me for misbehaving, for taking up sides with his enemies! It's your choice." The beast roared its approval of her words, its tail writhing in rage. The fury rose and crashed in her ears like a wave, almost drowning out Luna Lovegood's trembling voice.

"She's right," the Ravenclaw said, nervously twisting a thin lock of blonde hair around her finger. "Just last week I saw her stopping a bunch of Slytherins from attempting an Unforgivable Curse on a first year."

"And she gave the Carrows just as much hell as we did," Neville Longbottom added, standing up much to Alia's surprise. "She was right up there with the leaders of the D.A." He fixed her in his solemn gaze, nodding at her, admiration sparking in his eyes. "I say we should let her stay."

"Well I say we shouldn't trust her!" someone yelled from the Hufflepuff table, and they exploded into muttered agreement. "She'd just as soon kill us with the Killing Curse than fight against her own family!"

The whole Hall's voices rose in argument- it seemed to Alia that Gryffindor and Ravenclaw were supporting their speakers, arguing that she had the right to stay just as much as anyone else, and Hufflepuff, having decided that her loyalty to Lord Voldemort and her family would never waver, shouted otherwise.

"Enough!" McGonagall shouted over the din. The argument still continued, much to the Professor's annoyance. She aimed her wand up at her throat. "_Sonorus! _ I SAID ENOUGH!!!" she thundered, her magically enhanced voice shaking the very walls, and the Hall fell silent again. She turned to the Gryffindor table, who were all looking up expectantly at her, her gaze scanning the ranks.

"Potter," McGonagall said, her eyebrows arching up, "What do you think?"

A lone boy rose from the table, and suddenly all the looks switched from Alia to Harry Potter, who slowly made his way up the aisle, the top of his dark head bobbing through the masses, the students' heads lowering respectfully. Alia looked down at the marble, searching for his reflection. He was moving quietly up to her, his green eyes locked on her face as she looked stonily down at the ground. His hands were casually in his pockets, and Alia assumed he had his hand tightly around his wand, just as she did. Both were coiled like a spring, ready to react in the merest of seconds.

He was interesting. For a wizard.

Sixteen years ago, on the eve of his first birthday, Lord Voldemort had come for this boy, intending to kill both his parents and him with the Avada Kedavra killing curse. Somehow, as soon as the spell was released at Harry Potter, it rebounded back upon Lord Voldemort, reducing him to little more than an animal, forced to live on the border between life and death. Harry had survived, with a lightning shaped scar on his forehead as a souvenir, and become what he was now, standing before her in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, a fierce and strong wizard with power that she'd only dreamed of having.

And now the entire school hung on the fact that if he didn't give himself up, all of them would die a horrid death and the school would be destroyed along with its protectors.

His green eyes stared intensely at her. She returned the stare, her mind crammed with questions. _Where were you when the whole school was suffering under the terrible reign of the Carrows and Snape? Where were you when they kidnapped Luna, and attempted to do the same to Neville's grandmother? Where were _**you**_ when we were suffering?_

Harry Potter's gaze held no answers, just an impassive and slightly interested look that annoyed her and angered the beast. Alia ground her teeth together, frustration seeping through her hard outer shell as she scrambled to hold it together. _Where was the great Harry Potter when the rest of the school was holding their own? Messing around with his friends on some stupid, meaningless quest._

"You're nothing like Malfoy, are you?" he asked quietly. "Selwyn, isn't it?"

Alia nodded stiffly. "Alia Selwyn."

He nodded back, his eyes focusing on some distant horizon, his eyes reflecting the candlelight as he immersed himself in his thoughts. The Hall waited with baited breath, their eyes on the strange pair, the Boy Who Lived, and the Death Eater's daughter. They looked awkward, standing together like that; everyone knew that Alia's father, Selwyn, had fought Harry and the Order of the Phoenix the night they had entered the castle through the Room of Requirement. And yet he showed no feelings of resentment, no feelings of hatred toward her. Alia was equally cordial and polite; if anything she was more wary and cautious than Harry, careful to do nothing that would be thought to be a threat.

Harry was everything Alia longed to be; both loved and feared. He was widely respected and popular; she was the hated and despised daughter of a famed Death Eater. For just once she wanted to hear her name spoken on somebody's lips with reverence, not with the loathing that students openly showed, while the teachers carefully kept theirs behind stern expressions. For only once in her life, Alia desperately wished she could be in someone else's skin, to get a tiny sip of what being cared about was like. She dealt well enough with the stares, the cruel whispers that echoed behind her back; fate had been brutal and pitiless to her ever since the day she had been born, and it always would be so. Unchanged, forever.

Dragging his emerald gaze back to her, Harry looked her over silently. His eyes behind the glasses were dark with thought, framed by black lashes that any girl would kill for. Alia stood still, crossing her arms with a rebellious glint in her ocean eyes. The beast growled low in its throat, snapping its vile teeth together with a loud snap. Harry was too immersed in examining her to notice the rigidity in her muscles, the way she was holding herself back. Scrutiny like this should be against the law.

Harry turned back to McGonagall and Kingsley. "Alia's loyalty lies with Hogwarts," he announced. There was a loud roar from the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, and a loud groan from the Hufflepuffs. Alia scanned the crowd anxiously, but not a single soul looked toward her with anger; they were preparing themselves for the battle, as she should be doing.

McGonagall raised her voice. "Potter?" she asked, scurrying up to him as the Houses moved across the floor, jostling for positions and readying their wands, "_Aren't you supposed to be looking for something?_"

"What? Oh," Harry said, "Oh yeah!" He looked at Alia sheepishly, and she turned to see a glimmer of amusement in Professor McGonagall's eyes.

"Then go, Potter, go!"

"Right—yeah—"

And he dashed off, dodging through the crowd with such swiftness that Alia barely caught a glimpse of him as he slipped out into the hallway. McGonagall tutted her disapproval behind her.

"Sometimes that boy is just so scatterbrained." she muttered to herself. Then she caught sight of Alia, who was looking at her strangely. "Don't just stand there, Ms. Selwyn! We have a battle to be fought! Now, Professor Flitwick tells me that your defensive charms have become something to be feared over the course of this past year, so I was wondering if perhaps you could help me set up defensive nexuses over the main entrances…"

Alia followed McGonagall around as she patrolled the Great Hall, picking up students along the way as she put together a group to guard the other secret entrances into the school. Fred and George Weasley, who had arrived with their parents and two older brothers, appeared out of thin air grinning identical grins. "We'll take this group off your hands, Professor! We know the passages better than anyone…"

McGonagall reluctantly turned leadership of the group over to the twins, and they disappeared into the crowd, the students following hesitantly after them with a couple of alarmed looks at the twins' retreating backs.

"Now I'm not sure that was such a good idea, Minerva," Professor Slughorn popped out of the flurry of hurrying students, a hand resting on his unnaturally large stomach. "The Weasley twins have been known to—oh, what a surprise! Ms, Selwyn, I'd heard rumors that you'd stayed; unfortunately you were the only one to do so." He rubbed one hand over his bald pate uncomfortably. "Says enough about where Slytherin's loyalties lie, doesn't it…?"

"Not to worry, Horace. What's done is done." McGonagall looked slightly distant. Then she snapped her attention back to Alia. "Now Ms. Selwyn, follow me please." She strode off in the direction of the Entrance Hall doors looking slightly sterner as she scolded a few fifth years who were trying to masquerade as seventh years in a feeble attempt at joining the battle.

The whole school seemed to finally realize the exact nature of the dangerous and possibly fatal situation that they were in, and the strain was beginning to show in their faces as they gripped wands with quietly determined faces. They politely parted for McGonagall, shooting impassive stares directed at Alia as she followed in the Professor's wake. Alia ignored them as she stepped out into the Entrance Hall, which turned out to be just as crowded as the Great Hall. People were calling across the hall, some trying to find relatives and some trying to maintain order. Those that were trying to organize the roiling mass of students soon gave up, heading up the staircase and yanking out their wands as they went to place silent charms upon the loudly sobbing fifth years that McGonagall had scolded earlier.

McGonagall headed toward the front entrance, and they passed by the four columns full of jewels that kept count of House points. Alia eyed the Slytherin column, making note of the lack of gems at the bottom. Someone had emptied her House's points to make a point.

All around her the school was actively preparing for the coming battle. Suits of armor jumped off their pedestals, and, bowing to the swooning ladies in the portraits beside them, gallantly came to attention and marched down the hall, weapons at the ready. Gargoyles minced through the air above them, letting out raucous cries to one another as they beat their stone wings with anticipation. They passed Professor Flitwick's room; he was attempting to coax his desk into leading the other desks in a charge, waving his wand about with charms spilling out the end and raining down upon the students' desks, which jumped to attention and pawed the ground eagerly. He nodded to McGonagall and Alia briefly as they swept by, wiping the moisture off his forehead with the back of his hand.

The oaken doors rose in front of them, and McGonagall halted. Flicking her gaze back at Alia, she said quietly, "I really hope Potter was right about you, Ms. Selwyn. I have my doubts, as does the rest of the school. However, allowing you to stay also may help; as you can clearly see, we need all the help we can get. But I will warn you-" She was looking directly at Alia now, "that if you do indeed turn traitor, you will not live to see tomorrow. Understood?"

A shiver rolled through Alia as she gazed back at McGonagall, and slowly nodded. The beast snarled as it bared its teeth, the venom oozing from every atom of its being, and Alia fought to keep the expression on her face from mirroring it.

Ending on that happy note, the Professor's voice turned from businesslike to the tone she used for lectures in class as she rolled up the emerald sleeves of her robe. "Now, the spell for defensive nexuses is…"

"Securo, not to be mistaken for sencuro or censuro," Alia quoted, pulling her wand free of her back jeans pocket. She had slipped it in during the struggle to get through the crowds-she couldn't afford to lose it, not now.

Professor McGonagall flashed a rare smile. "Indeed. One must wave one's wand in a…"

"Motion similar to the muggle hobby of knitting--marking xs in the air over the object or structure you wish to cast the nexus over." Alia finished. She slowly drew her wand over the rough wood of the door to her right. "Securo."

The phoenix wand flared briefly- a thin line of blue trailed from the tip of her wand as she weaved it into an x, then marked an identical one on the door to her left. The blue x burned into the wood, glowing faintly as it sunk into the oak. The doors began to glow a blue aura, casting a thin light on the Professor's drawn out features. For once her liveliness was gone, replaced by a face shadowed with worry and anxiety. Her brow remained furrowed as the door's glow ceased, and the wood was rough once more. The nexus was sealed.

"Very good," McGonagall commented, flashing a well trained eye over Alia's handiwork. "Professor Flitwick wasn't exaggerating."

Despite herself, Alia felt a warm blush come over her face at the Professor's praise. She had always been modest, and her work in all her classes had always been quite satisfactory to her teachers. Alia absentmindedly fingered the tiny bottle of Felix Felicis in her pocket, tracing her intitals onto the vial with her finger. She had brewed it herself, carefully and secretively, over the past couple months, using the Room of Requirement as a place where she could work quietly. Alia couldn't explain _why _she had done it; it was an instinctual feeling in her gut that urged her on, to learn all she could about the tricky little potion from Slughorn, daring her to attempt the impossible.

And during all that time, Alia couldn't shake the feeling that she might actually _need_ the potion. Felix Felicis was useful in all types of situations- anything she dreamed up she was sure the Felix would be able to solve. Now, she knew the reason for the instinct; somehow she had sensed the battle rising up on the horizon.

Alia and McGonagall were soon racing all throughout the castle, locking up every nook and cranny that there was even a slight chance of Death Eaters discovering. At last Alia leaned against the wall beside the West entrance, slightly out of breath but feeling proud of her accomplishment. She allowed her eyes to slip closed for a brief minute, letting herself relax for a single, blissful moment.

Somewhere in the castle bells began to toll.

Alia's eyes flew open. One look at McGonagall's horrified face told her that midnight had snuck up on them, quietly and deceitfully, without even a whisper of its arrival. Her fingers tightened instinctively around her phoenix feather wand, and she yanked the vial of Felix out of her pocket.

McGonagall's eyes narrowed. "Ms. Selwyn-"

Alia drained the potion, feeling it rush through her system as adrenaline pumped through her veins. The beast inside collapsed with a guttural snarl; the Felix had been too much for it. Alia felt like she was floating several inches above the ground, a sense of tranquility settling like a veil over her.

McGonagall had her wand out, directing at her once again. "What was that?"

Something in her mind told her to speak the truth. "Felix Felicis."

The Professor lowered her wand hesitantly, a light gleam of something like confusion in her dark eyes. "Lucky potion?"

Alia nodded drunkenly, the Felix filling her with a pulsing feeling. "Yep."

McGonagall opened her mouth, but suddenly the walls around them rumbled, visibly trembling like leaves clutched in the cold grip of a winter wind. Alia fought to keep her balance, her hand reaching about for the wall she knew was there-but for some reason her hand couldn't find it. A loud roar shattered the window next to the door, echoing about the hallway as it faded; the glass sprinkled the floor with what looked like snow, the larger shards lying closer to the toes of Alia's right converse. McGonagall winced, and suddenly it was overcome by a strange look of one struck by a sudden realization.

The Professor whipped around, her long cloak swirling menacingly around her as she made her way swiftly toward the right wing of the school. Alia stepped after her.

Suddenly McGonagall's wand was touching her nose.

Her dark eyes looked down the elder wand with a barely concealed concern. "Stay here." She struggled to force the words out. "Watch the entrance. If someone breaks through, you know what to do."

"Yes, Professor," Alia said, the model of obedience. Behind the scene, however, she was surprised that McGonagall couldn't hear the gears of the mischievous half of her mind revolving around, encouraged on by the Felix. _It's like a drug,_ Alia suddenly thought. _It moves you, influences you, controls you…_

It also opened her world up to millions of new possibilities, ones that had been hidden in the deep cracks of her mind. _I'm now a drug addict._

She held in her laughter as McGonagall slipped her wand into one of numerous pockets and set off in the direction she had been going, a new purpose to her stride. For once Alia was actually considering doing what she was told; McGonagall had actually looked concerned about her. Then she made up her mind. _Nah._

"Once a ruler breaker, always a rule breaker," someone said behind Alia, his voice filled with a gentle amusement. "And here I was, thinking that you might actually listen this time."

Alia could feel a blush creeping up her neck as she whipped around, her eyes wide with wonder. His grey eyes were laughing at her, his smile as contagious as it had ever been before the war, before everything she knew had collapsed into a pile of rubble that she'd rather forget. He leaned carelessly against the wall, the painting of Sir Cadogan at his right shoulder. The tiny knight was waving his huge sword around with certain arrogance, attempting to chase after his pony, who had trotted out of the picture into the one of the monks next door.

He was just like she remembered. As arrogant as ever, if his dark eyes were anything to go by. Still with that half smile on his face that played hell with her heart.

She refused to let herself be intimidated. "I once would have listened to you," Alia spat. Her fingers clenched hard around her wand, the supple wood bending. "Evan listened to you too! And look where that's got him-he's wandering around in the Forbidden Forest, lost and empty without his soul. You just stood there and watched them take him!" Alia turned back around angrily, striding off down the hallway. "You know what? Just forget it. You threw everything away when you joined Voldemort. Including me." Alia stared hard at his reflection in the marble floor. "Goodbye, Jared."

Jared caught her wrist in his firm grip and spun her around to face him. Alia's eyes flared as she arranged her face into a scowl. "You know it isn't that easy, Alia. The Dark Lord isn't very happy with you. In fact, I'm here on his orders-he knows you've been associating with his enemies, and he wants you back. Badly." Trying to ignore the tingling feeling that was lingering on her arm where his fingers had brushed her, Alia narrowed her eyes as she looked up into his face.

"Then by all means, let's go to your master. Then he can pet you and tell you what a good little Death Eater you've been, and give you your reward. Don't worry-I'm sure he'll let you kill me yourself." Alia's teeth snapped together, the beast roaring in her chest.

"Alia," Jared murmured quietly. "If you persist in angering him, he won't be able to ignore it any longer-that you're a threat. And you know what he does with threats." He grey gaze burned into her, scorching everywhere it rested. At last he looked back in her eyes.

"Like Harry Potter?" Alia let out a bitter, trilling laugh. "Yeah, he was SUCH a threat. He was only a baby, Jared, and Voldemort just had to destroy him on the slim chance that Harry would manage to defeat him?" She laughed again. "Voldemort is a coward."

"No. He's the one who's going to win this war, and I don't know about you, but I'm going to outlive it. If that means siding with the Dark Lord, then that's what I'll do. What will you do, Alia?" His words cut through her, and suddenly the beast inside her was yowling in outrage as he lifted his wand to her face. It gently brushed her cheek, tucking a wild hair behind her ear.

"She won't go with the likes of you, scoundrel!" Sir Cadogan barked from the painting behind Jared. He had apparently been listening in on the conversation as he searched for his lost pony. "That lass is as loyal as they come!"

"Shut up," Jared growled, and he aimed his wand at the tiny knight, who puffed his chest out indignantly.

"Do your worst, heathen!" cried Sir Cadogan, swinging his sword, which lodged itself in an elm tree. He tried fruitlessly to pull it out, then collapsed on the ground, breathless.

"Scour-" Jared began.

_Protego. _Alia thought furiously. Her wand sparked, the invisible barrier extending down in front of the helpless knight. Jared's curse bounced off and soared wide, wiping itself out on the opposite wall where a few poor bricks crumbled into nothingness. His eyes blazing, Jared turned on her, his teeth bared in a snarl. Alia stood her ground, hatred contorting her face as she glared.

"Leave him alone!"

"What I do is none of your business!"

"When you attacked Hogwarts, Jared, it became my business," Alia said quietly, venom lacing through the words. "You did this to yourself, not me. I was never a part of it." She turned her face away. "Acuro relashio."

His wand flew away from him and struck the floor ten feet down the hall, in the direction McGonagall had gone. Jared lay on the floor, his eyes closed, his breathing ragged behind her. Alia's heart throbbed as she slowly slid her right foot forward. Then she took another agonizing step, shuffling herself forward, aware of how close she was to crashing and burning. His breathing sounded even louder, pounding in her ears to the beat of her trembling heart, as she gripped her wand forcefully.

_He had once been everything to her._

Somehow Alia managed to reach the southern corridor. She couldn't hold it off any longer.

"I'm sorry, Jared," she managed to get out, before she took off, as fast as she could. Had to outdistance herself from the pain, escape the reality of the truth that threatened to choke her, gripping her in its strong claws…The pain began to beat dully through her system, as, slowly, Alia began to give in.

The halls of Hogwarts whipped by in a blur, the world whirling faster and faster as the tears blinded her to everything. The castle was falling, tumbling down around her, its walls no longer safe. The battle seemed so far away now.

_Alia._

The thought poked its way into her raging thoughts, the eye of her hurricane. She ignored it, enjoying the freedom of her released emotions. _They_ didn't betray her.

It persisted. _Alia._

"What?!" she snapped as she halted in front of the Room of Requirement.

The girl with the long, pale face and lank hair stood in the doorway. Her eyes were glowing dully, and Alia was suddenly dowsed with biting cold as she realized that all the torches had been extinguished, their warm light absent from the hall. She shivered, feeling ice eating its way to her bones. The school was abruptly silent; the rumbling had silenced and the cries of the battle were gone.

It took all Alia had to focus her eyes on the girl's face and bring herself rapidly to earth. She looked terrible, her pale face drained even more of color then it usually was, the blonde hair damp and stringy. The moonlight played with the shadows on her face, alternating its beams across her cheeks, flowing smoothly over the porcelain skin.

"We've fallen, Alia. Hogwarts has fallen," Luna Lovegood whispered, her face suddenly turning skeletal. "We lost."

_What?_

Still uncomprehending, Alia wasn't aware of when someone grabbed her arm, shaking her roughly. Rather then fighting back, she let herself sink deeper into her depression.

_Hogwarts has fallen._

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Reviews would be appreciated.


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